Re: 2.6.28-git8: tg3 doesn't work due to firmware not loading (-git7 is ok)

["Alessandro Suardi" <alessandro.suardi@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Jan 9, 2009 at 11:04 PM, David Miller <davem@davemloft.net> wrote:
> From: "Alessandro Suardi" <alessandro.suardi@gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 18:30:40 +0100
>
>> Clearly the requirement changed in -git8, AFAICS.
>
> Because -git8 is where the firmware requirement got added.

OK, thanks.

> If you build the TG3 driver statically into your kernel,
> the only way to get the firmware properly loaded is to
> enable that CONFIG_FIRMWARE_IN_KERNEL option.
>
> Your filesystem isn't mounted when the driver initializes
> in that case, therefore there is no way to get at the
> firwware that might be present there.

And indeed I do build tg3 in-kernel. But since the config
 option was present previously, perhaps it would have
 been the case to change the help text for tg3 explaining
 that now a non-modular build requires an extra step ?

Or maybe kbuild allows to select FIRMWARE_IN_KERNEL
 if tg3 is built non-modular ?

My only observation is that a make oldconfig shouldn't
 change a working setup to a non-working one (though
 it already happened once to me in a couple of weeks,
 the other being I915 DRM being silently skipped as a
 consequence of becoming dependent on CONFIG_FB)
 with a new kernel patch.

Clearly, if there is no easy way to avoid such a situation,
 it's okay - LKML and the other Linux-related lists are
 always helpful.

Thanks again, ciao,

--alessandro

 "Sun keeps rising in the west / I keep on waking fully confused"

   (The Replacements, "Within Your Reach")